Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.91.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Vulcan Materials from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upgraded Vulcan Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Vulcan Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

Vulcan Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VMC opened at $268.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $265.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.37. Vulcan Materials has a 1-year low of $215.08 and a 1-year high of $298.31. The company has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.82.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.20. Vulcan Materials had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vulcan Materials will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Vulcan Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Vulcan Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.80%.

Insider Activity at Vulcan Materials

In related news, SVP David P. Clement sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,640. This trade represents a 34.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vulcan Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VMC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Vulcan Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vulcan Materials by 26.9% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 184 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities.

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